After the gala ended, Shen Wanwan rode home in Shao Yuye’s car.
By then, people online had already pieced together the whole story: some unknown female celebrity had been snidely mocking Shen Wanwan, and Shao Yuye just happened to overhear it. So he stepped in and played the hero, pulling Shen Wanwan straight from the last row to the very front.
Many viewers had watched <Extreme Challenge>, and they’d seen for themselves how Shao Yuye and Shen Wanwan’s relationship evolved—from mutual dislike to becoming a tacitly coordinated duo—so no one really overthought it.
[Seriously, being friends with Brother Ye must be such a blessing, right? Shen Wanwan used to clash with him so badly, but now that things have eased up, he still protects her like this. Righteous Brother Ye, I’m really in love!]
[So which female celebrity was it? How dare she mock Wanwan, what kind of status does she even have? Say it out loud, let me hear it!]
[Totally two-faced, one way onstage, another offstage! People who don’t know better would think she’s some big shot!]
Meanwhile, the ‘Wan Feng’s all flocked to Shao Yuye’s Weibo to leave comments:
[Thank you so much, Brother Ye! If it weren’t for you, Wanwan might’ve been bullied!]
[Wuwuwu, thank you, Brother Ye!]
On the other hand, the ‘Yu Yu’s were even more rational than that.
[Uh… are you guys really sure Shen Wanwan would get bullied?]
After all, she was a woman who had even bullied the director of <Extreme Challenge>!
In the end, after everyone argued back and forth, they all went to boost that trending topic #Shen Wanwan: Life’s Ultimate Winner”#
[I wouldn’t even dare dream this big! Shao Yuye on the left, Qi Luozhou on the right! Calling Shen Wanwan a life winner, I’m honestly tired of saying it!!!!]
Shao Yuye scrolled through Weibo for a while, then noticed that the small group chat with his teammates was ‘poisoning the night.’
It was nothing but photos of brightly colored, high-calorie foods—one after another—making his stomach growl.
He lifted his head from his phone and asked Shen Wanwan seriously:
“Do you want some malatang?”
To maintain his condition, Shao Yuye usually avoided food like this. Still, he wasn’t a true ascetic. Once a month, he allowed himself a chance to indulge and enjoy good food.
“Malatang?”
Shen Wanwan frowned and rejected it without a second thought, “No.”
When she said no, Shao Yuye hesitated again. Damn it, eating alone was no fun.
“Hotpot? Barbecue? Crayfish? Anything you feel like eating?”
He offered earnestly.
Shen Wanwan turned them all down.
“No.”
Shao Yuye swallowed quietly.
—I really want to eat…
In the end, he turned his gaze toward Brother Li.
“Do you want some?”
Unable to bear it, Brother Li said.
“…If you want to eat, then eat. I’ll order it for you.
“Just remember to run for an hour afterward.”
Shao Yuye’s eyes instantly lit up.
“Deal!”
With Brother Li handling the arrangements, as soon as they got home, Shao Yuye received the malatang delivery he’d been longing for.
Fresh out of the pot. When he lifted the lid, streams of hot steam rushed upward.
He grabbed a small bowl, scooped out a few meatballs to cool them, then looked at Shen Wanwan, trying to tempt her:
“Come on, try one?”
“No.”
Shen Wanwan began explaining just how picky her tastes were.
Even five-star chefs often failed to hit the flavor she wanted, let alone this malatang, which didn’t look particularly appetizing at first glance.
She glanced at the red, oily broth with a trace of pity and delivered her final verdict:
“I wouldn’t dare to ea—”
Before the word ‘eat’ could leave her mouth, Shao Yuye suddenly stuffed a round object into her mouth.
She frowned and was about to spit it out, but as her tongue touched the surface of the meatball, a burst of savory aroma flooded her mouth.
Shen Wanwan hesitated, then took a bite. The mild spiciness tingled on her tongue, the flavor of the beef meatball spreading between her lips and teeth. Her eyes lit up.
“Delicious!”
Shao Yuye wore a ‘told-you-so’ expression.
“Obviously. Would I ever mess with you?”
She carefully chewed and swallowed the beef meatball, then leaned over to peek into Shao Yuye’s bowl, pointing at a piece connected to a bone.
“I want to try that one too.”
Shao Yuye fished one out and fed it to her.
“Good, right?”
“It’s… okay.” Determined to maintain her persona, Shen Wanwan replied haughtily, “If you want to eat it in the future, I can accompany you and try it.”
Shao Yuye burst out laughing.
“Oh ho, look at you being all nice!”
The happy holiday soon passed, and the recording of <Extreme Challenge>’s fourth stop was right around the corner.
After Shen Wanwan’s stunning appearance on the StarShow red carpet, all the other guests congratulated her as soon as they met.
Bai Ling hadn’t been invited, but she had watched the livestream. Seeing Shao Yuye stand up for Shen Wanwan, seeing Shen Wanwan seated right between Shao Yuye and Qi Luozhou, she couldn’t help saying:
“Wanwan, I really envy you. If only I’d been grouped with Brother Ye back then.”
It was hard to tell whether Bai Ling said it intentionally.
But the hidden implication in her words seemed to suggest that Shen Wanwan had only received the StarShow invitation because she was on the same team as Shao Yuye.
Shen Wanwan raised an eyebrow and comforted her, saying, “It’s fine. You can try your best to choose him.”
Whether he would choose Bai Ling, however, was another matter altogether.
Bai Ling sighed quietly to herself, then silently looked toward Qi Luozhou.
Qi Luozhou was talking with Jiang Yuan, his side profile smooth and refined.
More than half of the variety show had already passed, yet she still hadn’t had the slightest interaction with either Shao Yuye or Qi Luozhou.
Her manager had long since started pressuring her, using Shen Wanwan’s recent explosive popularity as an example, how it had all been achieved by riding on Shao Yuye’s massive traffic. The manager demanded that she step up her contact with both Shao Yuye and Qi Luozhou, strive to create buzz, and replicate Shen Wanwan’s success.
It was hard for Bai Ling not to feel anxious.
She didn’t know what kind of new partner Lin Kexin had assigned her in the previous episode.
Please…
Let it not be Zhang Yiran.
She prayed silently in her heart.
After dangling the suspense for so many days, <Extreme Challenge> was finally about to reveal the answer. Almost the moment the show went on air, huge waves of viewers flooded into the livestream—
[Finally starting! I’ve waited so long my flowers have withered!]
[Director, I advise you not to tease us anymore! Air the results right now!!!]
[Damn it, Lin Kexin is really tight-lipped, she still hasn’t said how the swap went! Ahhh so annoying!]
These past few days, Lin Kexin’s Weibo had been unusually active. Every time she posted, many show fans rushed into her comments to ask questions.
She posted a line saying, [Heavenly secrets must not be revealed], and amid everyone’s wails, added another sentence: [Anyway, you’ll be very surprised when you see it.]
Although some bloggers had already calculated the most likely team combinations, guessing was one thing, seeing it with your own eyes was another.
The director did not disappoint. After gathering everyone together, he officially began announcing the team assignments for the fourth stop.
Jin Xiaoyu clenched her hands tightly.
Oh my god, she really didn’t want to be paired with Su Tingxuan again!
The director held his cue cards and read aloud:
“Based on the grouping of last episode’s lucky guest helper, the results are as follows—
“Jin Xiaoyu.”
Jin Xiaoyu’s heart leapt straight up into her throat.
She crossed her arms over her chest, her forearms trembling.
Please…
Please don’t let it be Su Tingxuan!
The director finally read out the next name.
“Zhang Yiran.”
Jin Xiaoyu instantly let out a breath of relief. As she looked toward Zhang Yiran, the director brought the hammer down.
“You are a team.”
That’s great!
She was so moved she was about to cry!
Zhang Yiran, on the other hand, grinned at her cheerfully, laughing without a care: “Yo, it’s you again. Same old rules, call me ‘Brother’ and I’ll carry you!”
Jin Xiaoyu : “Brother Brother Brother Brother Brother!”
Forget calling him Brother, even calling him Dad would be fine!
Thank you, Lin Kexin, she had finally escaped that deadweight Su Tingxuan!!
The bullet comments erupted in laughter.
[Jin Xiaoyu looks so touched.]
[Hahaha, with Zhang Yiran you can get first or second place; with Su Tingxuan it’s last or second-to-last. No wonder the kid’s been driven to this state!]
[So isn’t the production team considering kicking Su Tingxuan out? He’s really dragging everyone down!]
For some reason, Bai Ling also felt a little nervous, infected by Jin Xiaoyu’s excitement.
She secretly glanced at Shao Yuye, just as she heard the director call her name.
“Bai Ling.”
Her breathing stopped in that instant. She waited for the director’s final verdict, anticipation rising in her heart—whether it was Shao Yuye or Qi Luozhou—
“Su Tingxuan.”
The director’s cold voice shattered her unnecessary fantasies. Bai Ling’s eyes widened in disbelief as she heard him confirm:
“You are a team.”
Su Tingxuan’s face lit up with joy. “Bai Ling—”
Bai Ling felt dizzy, the world spinning.
[Oh my god, poor Bai Ling! She’s actually teamed up with that deadweight Su Tingxuan!]
[Honestly, Su Tingxuan really should be kicked off already!]
[Stop arguing. Next it’s either Brother Ye or God Zhou. How unexpected can it get? Will Brother Ye and God Zhou be on the same team? 🤩🤩]
Everyone held their breath, craning their necks for the final result.
At this moment, the director called out Shen Wanwan’s name.
“Shen Wanwan.”
At this point, the only guests left without teams were Qi Luozhou, Shao Yuye, and Jiang Yuan.
The ‘Wan Feng’s immediately felt reassured.
[All three are reliable. No matter who Wanwan teams up with, there’s nothing to worry about!]
[The main thing is that the Su Tingxuan bomb has been removed, so satisfying!]
[Hehe, selfishly hoping for another round of ‘Petty Revenge Duo’!]
[Damn it, I just started shipping ‘WanZhou’, can I dream of WanZhou being on the same team?!]
As if deliberately stretching the suspense to the limit, the director lowered his gaze and paused for a long time.
During this extended pause, Bai Ling clenched her teeth and analyzed silently.
The director dragging it out like this meant that Shen Wanwan definitely wasn’t on a team with Shao Yuye.
Then…
Among those left, there were only Jiang Yuan and Qi Luozhou.
Will Lin Kexin really put Shen Wanwan and Qi Luozhou on the same team…?
Probably not, right?
A wave of nervousness rose in her heart.
But Shen Wanwan herself wasn’t nervous at all.
Arms crossed, Shen Wanwan waited lazily for the director to announce the final partner.
“Jiang Yuan.”
[Wow! So Brother Ye and God Zhou are in the same group?!]
[Hahahaha! Lin Kexin, you’ve got some nerve! Aren’t you afraid Brother Ye will chase you down with a 40-meter broadsword?!]
Bai Ling secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
At this moment, the expressions on the three men on set all became quite something.
Jiang Yuan looked as if he’d been hit by a pie falling from the sky, his face full of glee and disbelief;
Shao Yuye looked like he was questioning his very existence, wondering if he’d heard wrong;
As for Qi Luozhou…
Seemingly unhappy about being grouped with his nemesis, even the usual smile at the corners of his lips faded.
At this point, the director added another line: “Please say goodbye to your original partners.”
Jiang Yuan, grinning foolishly, waved at Qi Luozhou. “It’s fine, we’ll hang out again next time.”
Qi Luozhou, for once, didn’t respond.
The barrage of comments burst into laughter—
[God Zhou: You’re just leaving me like this?]
[Hahahahaha! God Zhou : There is no ‘next time’. Jiang Yuan, you brat, running off the moment you see a pretty girl!]
Just as Jiang Yuan was about to walk toward Shen Wanwan, the director spoke again: “Jiang Yuan, Shao Yuye, you two are a team.”
Jiang Yuan, who had just taken a step forward: ???
Shao Yuye, standing to the side with a forced smile, having thought he was about to be teamed up with his nemesis and feeling utterly speechless: ???
Shao Yuye stared at the director in disbelief. “What did you say?”